Global Ganja Report

Arizona's 2010 voter-approved state law authorizing "the local cultivation, sale, and use, of medical marijuana" is not preempted by the federal Controlled Substances Act, according to the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County. The ruling, issued earlier this month by Judge Michael Gordon, allows for the establishment of state-licensed medicinal cannabis dispensaries within Arizona—the first of which opened its doors last week. State-licensed medical marijuana facilities now operate in several states, including Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Maine.

The Obama administration will be going toe-to-toe in federal court Dec. 20 at 10 AM with the City of Oakland and California's largest medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center. US Attorney Melinda Haag filed forfeiture proceedings in July against Harborside's landlords to force the dispensary to close its two locations in Oakland and San Jose. Then, in October, the City of Oakland filed its own legal action against Haag and her boss, US Attorney General Eric Holder. Harborside serves thousands of patients, pays local, state and federal taxes, and has been legally operating in Oakland since 2006.

Montana medical pot grower Chris Williams,  who was sentenced this year to a mandatory minimum of 85 to 92 years in federal prison, will have most of his convictions dropped after more than 27,000 people petitioned the White House for his clemency. On Dec. 18, federal prosecutors agreed to drop six of eight of Williamss charges and dismiss the $1,728,000 in penalties awarded to the government if he waives his right to appeal. His convictions for possessing a firearm in connection with drug trafficking and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana will stand. He faces five years on the distribution charge and a mandatory minimum of five years for the firearm-related charge.

Employees of Waste Management, refuse collection provider for California's Nevada County, will help local law enforcment agencies keep an eye on the neighborhoods they serve, under a partnership announced last week. The crime watch program—dubbed WasteWatch—will have Waste Management drivers looking for evidence of illegal activity. "We welcome the extra eyes and ears in our neighborhoods," said Jeff Powell, an operations captain with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, in a statement. "Waste Management drivers provide services in our community on a daily basis." (The Union, Grass Valley, Dec. 3)

The New York Times reports that White House and Justice Department officials are considering plans for legal action against Colorado and Washington in the wake of last month's legalization initiatives. The Obama administration declined to comment on the deliberations, but pointed to a press release the Justice Department issued on Dec. 5—the day before the initiative took effect in Washington—in the name of the US attorney in Seattle, Jenny A. Durkan.

The Mendocino Board of Supervisors and county counsel Thomas Parker are scheduled to meet in a closed-door session Dec. 4 to discuss a pending federal subpoena for records held by the Sheriff's now-defunct medical marijuana cultivation program, County Code 9.31—in which registrants were allowed to grow collectively up to 99 plants and were sold zip ties for $25 per plant to show they were being cultivated in compliance with state law. Medical marijuana patient advocates are urging the county not to comply with the subpoena and attempt to quash it. A brief public comment period is scheduled for 9 AM Tuesday just prior to the closed-door session.

Parents in the small West Texas town of Van Horn are concerned that narco-traffickers are using school buses after nearly 500 pounds of compacted cannabis was found on a bus carrying junior varsity basketball players back home from an out-of-town game. The bus driver found the drugs when the  bus emblazoned with the Van Horn Eagles name on the side stopped at a convenience store in Marfa so the players could get snacks. He found the marijuana stuffed in four large, black duffel bags stashed in the bottom storage area. The bus had already passed through a road checkpoint. (KHOU, Houston, Nov. 21)

A study released late last month by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, an elite think-tank based in Mexico City, asserted that proposals to legalize cannabis in Colorado,  Washington and Oregon could cut Mexican drug cartels' earnings from traffic to the US by as much as 30%. The study, entitled "If Our Neighbors Legalize," drawing on previous research by the RAND Corporation, predicts that legalization in any US state wold help drive down the price of high-quality domestic cannabis, undercutting the cheaper and less potent cartel imports. It calculated a loss of $1.425 billion to the cartels if Colorado legalized, $1.372 billion if Washington legalized, and $1.839 billion if Oregon voted yes. (AP, Nov. 1) In the Nov. 6 vote, initiatives calling for legalization of cannabis under regimes of state control were approved by voters in Colorado and Washington, but rejected in Oregon.